Prishtina, 2 February 2023
At the invitation of the Embassy of Israel in Kosovo, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, participated in the ceremony that was held at the National Library to mark the International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
Honored with the invitation, Prime Minister Kurti said that we are gathered here, as a sign of a new friendship between our two countries two years after the establishment of diplomatic relations, to remember together the Holocaust – one of the darkest episodes in the history of mankind.
“As we gather here today to commemorate the victims of the Holocaust, let us remember the past, with an eye to the future. The best way to honor their memory is not only through words, but also through our actions. In short, let us never forget, but never again”, said Prime Minister Kurti in his speech before the audience.
The complete speech, in English, of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo, Albin Kurti:
Honorable Ambassador, Madam. Tamar Ziv,
Honorable Former President, Madam Atifete Jahjaga,
Honorable Ambassadors and Representatives of Diplomatic Missions in Kosova,
Dear Member of Parliament and Ministers of the Government,
Dear Municipality Mayors,
Dear President of the Jewish Community of Kosova, Mr. Votim Demiri,
Dear guests, partners and friends,
Ladies and gentlemen,
It is a great honor to be with you here today, at the first official Holocaust Remembrance Ceremony in Kosova. And it is especially fitting for this event to be held this week, as we celebrate the second anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Kosova and Israel. As a sign of the new friendship between our two nations, we are gathered here to remember together the Holocaust — one of the darkest episodes of human history, but also one that defies human understanding.
We cannot seek to comprehend something that is, in the end, incomprehensible. But we must remember. The twin dictates that arose in the aftermath of the Holocaust, were “Never Forget” and “Never Again”. These dictates are, I think, best understood together. They link the past with the future: In order to prevent something like the Holocaust from ever happening again in the future, we must never forget what transpired in the past.
The history of the Holocaust is littered with episodes of immense human evil. At the level of the state, the Holocaust was distinguished by the ruthless, systematic way in which its evil design was planned and executed. Hitler and his followers were so fixated by their so-called “Final Solution,” that they dedicated massive amounts of resources to attaining it — soldiers, equipment, railroads, concentration camps, and more — even at the expense of their own war effort. The result, in human terms, was devastating: Six million Jews were killed in the Holocaust, two-thirds of Europe’s Jewish population.
And yet, the evil of the Holocaust goes far deeper than the number of people killed. “Leon S.”, a survivor of the Buchenwald concentration camp, told the following story, many years later, of his family’s violent deportation from Poland:
At that time, we had my grandmother living with us. She was in her early 60s, but she broke her leg several years before, which never completely healed, and therefore she was limping. And when we had to enter the wagons — the transportation to a collection place — she asked my cousin in Polish to help her get on that wagon. And one of the German soldiers, who apparently understood Polish, said, “Yes, I’ll help you.” And he took out a gun from his holster, and he killed her.
From the testimony of survivors like Leon S., we have heard many such stories, documenting the cruel inhumanity of the Holocaust. There are millions more such stories that we shall never hear.
But in the midst of this darkness, there were also rays of light. Indeed, January 27, 1945 was not a sad day, but a happy one. On that day, Auschwitz was liberated. And there are also many stories of brave people all across Europe and beyond — including families from Kosova — who willingly provided shelter to Jewish friends, neighbors, and refugees, sometimes at great risk to themselves.
Not only the horrors of the Holocaust, but also the example of these brave people, should inspire us today. They should inspire us to do all that we can, to prevent and to fight systematic state violence — up to and including genocide — wherever it occurs in the world.
Here in Kosova, where the last genocide of the 20th century was perpetrated, we are more than willing to do our part in this sacred task. After Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, we immediately joined U.S. and EU sanctions against those responsible. At the military level, Kosova’s soldiers have enthusiastically participated in Defender Europe, and this year we will be hosting the exercises in our country. Following the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan, we welcomed 1,893 Afghan refugees to Kosova, and we are also ready to accept up to 5,000 refugees from Ukraine. Finally, as a part of our Journalists-in-Residence program, we have accepted 12 journalists from Ukraine, and four from Afghanistan, whom I personally welcomed to Prishtina this week.
And so, as we gather here today to commemorate the Holocaust’s victims, let us remember the past, with an eye to the future. The greatest way to honor the memory of those lost is not only through our words, but also through our actions. In short, Never Forget, but also: Never Again.
Thank you.
Last modified: February 3, 2023